Weight Loss Gym Routine for Women to Reach Your Goals
Incorporating more movement into your day is essential to weight loss, but does this mean cardio training? Weightlifting? Pickleball?
With exercise, the options are nearly endless — but don’t let that overwhelm you. The most important thing is finding ways to fit movement into your day. Ideally, you’ll switch it up throughout the week with a combination of cardio, strength training, and stretching.
For a lot of people, following a workout plan takes the guesswork out of exercise. To help, we’ve created a weight loss gym routine for females to get you started. You can also do this routine at home if you don’t have access to a gym.
What’s a Holistic Workout Plan for Weight Loss?
A holistic workout plan is a combination of strategies that, together, help you reach your weight loss goals. Our weight loss gym routine for women combines a few different types of exercise.
Here’s what they are and how they can help you lose weight:
Cardio. Cardio exercise includes anything that gets your heart pumping, like jogging, cycling, tennis, and swimming. Also called aerobic exercise, cardio helps burn calories, increase energy, and improve mood.
Strength training. Strength training is good for maintaining and building muscle mass, which can be lost when losing weight. It also helps boost metabolism. You can use resistance machines in the gym, use bands or dumbbells at home, or skip the equipment and use your own body weight — think squats and push-ups.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT involves short bursts of high-intensity movement, like sprints, followed by rest and recovery periods. This fat-burning exercise is great for improving body composition (reducing body fat percentage and increasing lean muscle).
Flexibility and balance training. Activities like yoga, Pilates, and tai chi can help keep your muscles and joints healthy. Improving your balance and flexibility may also reduce your risk of injury.
General movement. Outside of structured exercise, try getting more movement into your day, like walking, standing, stretching, and tidying up your home.
A combination of different types of exercise is best for weight loss and overall health and wellness. Research suggests that combining cardio and strength training may be more effective for weight loss and cardiorespiratory fitness than doing either aerobic exercise or resistance training alone.
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How to Schedule Your Workouts for Weight Loss
Ideally, you should strive for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity throughout the week.
Alongside this, try to do at least two strength-training sessions each week.
If that sounds like a lot, don’t fret. You don’t need to go all-in with weight loss workouts straight away — especially if you’re just starting out. Try gradually incorporating more movement into your week and increasing how much you do as your fitness level improves.
Here are a few tips to make the most of your workout routine:
Spread out your aerobic activity throughout the week. For example, you could do an hour of activity three days a week or 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
Spread out your strength training sessions, too. This will give your muscles time to recover.
Don’t forget about rest days. Rest days are just as important as your most active days. Listen to your body. If you feel tired and sore, consider taking an extra rest day. On rest days, you can still do gentle movements like walking and stretching.
Don’t worry if you get off track. If you miss a workout on a busy day, don’t let it derail you. Reschedule the exercise, or just move on and make sure to complete the next day’s workout.
Don’t be afraid to switch things up. There’s no single workout that’s best for all women looking to lose weight. This plan isn’t meant to be prescriptive — it’s here to provide inspiration. So, switch it up if you get bored! The more you enjoy your workout routine, the more likely you are to keep going.
With all that in mind, here’s what a workout routine for women to lose weight could look like each week.
Your 7-Day Weight Loss Gym Routine
These are beginner gym workouts for females, but you can follow the plan even as your strength and fitness increase. You can also do many of these exercises from home.
Monday
30 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity, such as:
Brisk walking
Jogging
Swimming
Cycling
Hiking
Playing a sport like tennis, football, or netball
Taking a gym class like CrossFit or Zumba
If you’re doing moderate-intensity cardio, consider doing a longer session. If you’re getting your heart rate up with high-intensity aerobic activity, you can work out for a bit less time.
Tuesday
Strength training.
Over the week, aim to do muscle-strengthening exercises that incorporate all major muscle groups — upper body, lower body, and core. You could do a full-body workout each time you strength train, or focus on legs on one day and core and arms on another day.
A strength-training session could include a mix of lifting weights and bodyweight exercises:
Squats
Walking lunges
Deadlifts
Sit-ups
Planks
Bicep curls
Push-ups
Shoulder presses
Pull-ups
Tricep extensions
You can do many movements at home with your body weight, dumbbells, or kettlebells. You can also use free weights or machines in the gym.
To start, pick a few exercises and try five sets of 10 reps — that means performing an exercise 10 times, taking a short break and repeating for five rounds.
And don’t forget to warm up before your workout.
If you’re new to weight training (welcome!), consider getting advice from a level-3 personal trainer. They can introduce you to the best home and gym workout plans for beginners and make sure you’re doing everything with good form.
Today, along with strength training, consider adding in aerobic exercise, like cycling to the gym or taking your dog on a long walk.
Wednesday
30 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity, such as:
Brisk walking
Jogging
Swimming
Cycling
Hiking
Playing a sport like tennis, football, or netball
Taking a gym class like CrossFit or Zumba
If you didn’t do any HIIT-style movement on Monday, consider adding some here. That could mean incorporating a few high-intensity bursts into your run, doing the rowing machine, or joining a HIIT workout class.
Thursday
Rest day.
Consider active recovery, or limit yourself to a low-impact, low-intensity activity today. That could include going for a walk or doing gentle yoga.
Friday
Strength training.
Either include total-body exercises to target all muscles or focus on muscle groups you didn’t work out on Tuesday.
Resistance exercises may include:
Squats
Walking lunges
Deadlifts
Sit-ups
Planks
Bicep curls
Push-ups
Shoulder presses
Pull-ups
Tricep extensions
Consider adding in aerobic exercise as well. Today, that might look like using the elliptical after strength training or swimming a few laps.
Saturday
30 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity, such as:
Brisk walking
Jogging
Swimming
Cycling
Hiking
Playing a sport like tennis, football, or netball
Taking a gym class like CrossFit or Zumba
Sunday
Rest day.
Get a bit of general movement into your day, like walking and stretching.
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What to Do After This Weight Loss Gym Routine for Women
You did it — cheers!
Once you’ve completed this seven-day workout plan, think about how to keep your efforts going.
You could start from the beginning and complete the week-long plan again, or change it up to incorporate different types of exercise.
If you’re feeling good, you can also slowly increase the amount of aerobic exercise you do and the amount of weight you use in your strength-training sessions as your muscle strength improves.
To maintain weight loss, you may want to do 200 to 300 minutes of physical activity a week. That’s roughly three hours and 20 minutes to five hours.
It sounds like a lot, but remember, every type of movement counts — your training sessions and all the other movement you get in your day, like walking.
Daily Movement Beyond Exercise
Exercise is a key part of a weight loss journey, but that doesn’t mean your only options are going to the gym or lacing up your trainers for a run. Daily movement beyond proper training is also important.
Here’s how you can get more movement each day:
Add a walk to your morning routine or lunch break
Get up from your desk now and again to do a few bodyweight exercises or stretches
Consider a standing desk or walking pad if you work from a desk all day
Take the stairs over the lift
Take walking meetings and phone calls
Do some physical household tasks like gardening or tidying up inside
Set achievable fitness goals, such as getting 2,000 more steps a day
Besides structured gym sessions or strict appointments for aerobic activity, you can:
Throw a ball with your kids or dog
Meet friends for a hike
Join a dance class
Cycle to work
Join a sports club
Go to your local Parkrun (you can walk it!)
Supporting Weight Loss with Food, Hydration, and Sleep
Along with following a gym workout plan for women — or increasing your overall movement in your own way — here’s what to bear in mind when working towards a healthy weight:
Eat nutritious food. Healthy eating can boost your weight loss efforts. Eat fruit, vegetables, lean protein like chicken or tofu, and whole grains like brown rice and quinoa. Nutritious snacks like yoghurt, nuts, and seeds can also give you energy before or after exercise. Eating nutritious food can make planning feel easier, and you can also explore a structured 7-day diet plan for weight loss if you prefer more guidance.
Drink more water. Remember to drink plenty of water as you train more. Water can keep you hydrated and help regulate your appetite.
Get enough sleep. Sleep loss can disrupt hunger hormones, making it more challenging to lose weight. Prioritising sleep can help you recover from your workouts and have enough energy to stay consistent with your fitness programme.
Alongside diet and exercise, weight loss medication, like Mounjaro® and Wegovy®, can be an additional tool to help promote fat loss.
A GP (general practitioner) or private healthcare provider can help determine if weight loss medicines are right for you. You can also take our free online assessment to connect with a UK-registered clinician trained in weight management and find out if you’re eligible.
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Weight Loss Gym Routine Female: Final Thoughts
There are so many workouts for women that can help you lose weight. Having a training programme to follow can give you motivation and inspiration to reach your weight loss goals.
Here are our final tips:
Aim for a mix of aerobic exercise and strength training. You can follow a structured plan like the one above or combine different exercises each week so you don’t grow tired of the routine.
Think about daily movement beyond exercise. Try incorporating more movement into your day as a whole. Cardio and strength workouts can be a part of this, but so can taking a walk after work or standing up while on the phone.
Don’t forget food, water, and sleep. Beyond exercise, aim to eat whole foods, drink more water, and get enough sleep to lose weight and feel your best. If you want a clearer picture of what progress typically looks like, our guide on how long it takes to lose weight breaks down common timelines and what can influence them.
If you’re considering weight loss medication, you can take our free online assessment to see if it’s suitable for you.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your GP about the risks and benefits of any treatment.